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Manual drafting is the practice of creating drawings by hand. Manual drafting techniques have traditionally enabled the planning and communication of design ideas and construction information. As there is a very diverse range of information that may need to be communicated, there are a similarly wide range of drawing types. See Types of drawing for more information.

The evolution of manual drafting techniques has created a discipline around which other forms of drafting, such as computer-aided design (CAD) have subsequently developed.

The advantages of manual drafting include; the low cost of equipment compared to CAD hardware and software, the clarity that can be achieved by being able to see all shapes, sizes and angles on one sheet, the ability to bring creative style and expression to drawings, and a degree of depth and weight that can be easier to convey with 'analogue' rather than 'digital' drawing techniques. Those with experience of manual drafting would agree it gives a much deeper sense of knowledge and understanding of the drawing and then the finished building compared with CAD. Indeed some find it easier to sketch, in pencil, their drawing on paper then produce it on CAD.

However, manual drafting is now becoming something of a lost art, as; it requires a large amount of space, both for the drawing process, storage and viewing; drawings cannot be linked to digital information, they can take much more time to prepare in comparison with CADdrawings, they are more difficult to correct, text and colour can be more difficult to apply, it is more complicated to create three-dimensional representations, with isometric being the most common and a lot of experience is needed to complete a drawing efficiently without wasting too much time.

Those with experience can churn out a drawing just as quickly as a CAD drawing but the effort getting to that level is much higher compared to using CAD. Their is a lot more cost with manual drawings as draughts people would need to be employed.

Manual drafting requires a flat drafting table, drafting or drawing board, typically with a parallel motion, that allows consistent drawing of parallel lines. Drawing boards can often be adjusted in height and angle to suit the user. Typically with light from the north falling on the paper, from top or behind, the board is angled for drawing and flat for tracing. The angle aids in keeping your set square against the sliding ruler (if you needed to draw 90° lines) and helping with good posture.

Vellum paper was used traditionally for drafting and came supplied in rolls. More recently, drafting paper, standard paper sheets, or tracing paper have become more common as they are less expensive.

Lines in manual drafts should be clean and sharp. A straight edge should always be used when manually drafting. A parallel motion, or T-square can be used to draw horizontal lines, and a T-square or set square to draw vertical lines or other common angles.

Typically, the bottom of the set square is placed on the top of the parallel motion, and the vertical portion used to draw straight lines. To draw a vertical line using a T-square, the T portion should be placed flat against the top of the drawing board.

Equal pressure should be applied on the pen or pencil when drawing lines, slightly rotating the point, and not removing it from the paper until the line is completed.

Sprinkling setting powder, or using fixing sprays over pencil lines can help maintain the integrity of the lines when the sheets are folded or rolled, or otherwise brushed against.

Manual drafting techniques typically involve drawing different line weights to represent different items. Different line weights can be created by using a different size mechanical pencil lead, or a different size of technical drawing pen.

Exterior walls are typically drawn on floor plans and sections with heavy, solid lines. Windows may be drawn lighter, or with the same heaviness but in a dash-dot-dash format. Interior walls have slightly lighter line weights. Elements such as fittings should be drawn with the lightest line weight, and sometimes dashed lines.

It is important to maintain correct lettering sizes in manual draft, for example:

Notes: 3/32 inch letters.

Special notes: 1/8 inch letters.

Titles: 1/4 inch letters.

F pencils or technical drawing pens are typically used for lettering, with a small right triangle to draw straight portions of the letter. Curved portions may be drawn freehand. Thicker strokes are used for horizontal lines, thinner strokes for vertical lines. It can be useful to draw light guidelines first to ensure the correct and uniform text height.

This is a carefully practiced skill and Frank Chings book "Architectural graphics" shows practice papers of the kind primary school children use to get the lettering right. Alternatively just writing 4 mm x 4 mm capital letters looks right for most manual drawings.

The use of different scales enables objects and spaces to be depicted at a specific ratio to their actual size, helping to maintain consistency. Suitable scales will vary depending on the size of object, size of paper and level of information that needs to be conveyed, however, floor plans are commonly drawn with a 1/4 inch = 1 foot or 1:50 scale, kitchens and bathrooms with a 1/2 inch = 1 foot or 1:20 scale, wall sections with a 3/4 inch= 1 foot or 1:10 scale and so on.

Many companies and institutions will have scanned their hand drawn copies into computers and digitised these, and the original drawings will be kept in a locked drawing cabinet in an archive room that is secure.

Parametric modelling allows the 'automatic' creation of aspects of drawings based on a series of pre-programmed rules. So, for example, a rule might be created to ensure that walls must start at floor level and reach the underside of the ceiling. Then if the floor to ceiling height is changed, the walls will automatically adjust to suit. Other examples might include the colour of similar elements, the height of windowsills above floor level, the relationship between walls and a pitched roof, and so on.